Media

Tourism Alliance Says Another 25 Days Is Too Long For 25k Grants

Posted 10 Apr, 2020

On
what would have been the start of the summer season, tourism businesses are
desperately trying to keep afloat while the Minister for the Economy has just
announced that applications for the £25K grant will not be paid for another 25 days.

“We
are now pleading with banks and other financial institutions to work with the
industry as they wait to submit business critical applications,” explains Joanne Stuart, Chief Executive of NITA. “Jobs are being shed now, cancellations have
already happened, business are ready to close now. The Assembly needs to make
interim payments now if these businesses and jobs are to survive.”

“Whilst
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was welcomed by many tourism businesses,
the fact that the furlough scheme has not gone live yet means that businesses
are incurring upfront staffing costs which it was anticipated that the grants
would have supported.

“This
meant we would have had an interim cash flow that would have plugged the gap
until the Furlough scheme went live, however as the grants have not been
distributed businesses may not be able to survive until the end of April much
less start making grant applications,” she pointed out.

Tourism
businesses have been at the forefront of the catastrophic economic impact of
Covid-19 and with income dropping to zero within a matter of weeks and no
alternatives to generating income.

Tourism
effectively came to a stop in early March with a surge of cancellations due to
the escalation of the COVID-19 into Europe with businesses closing almost 4
weeks ago. Unlike any other part of the economy, Tourism businesses were hit at
the end of the quietest part of the tourism calendar with reserves and cash
flow at a minimum. Investments had been made in preparation for what was
predicted to be one of our best years following the success of The Open and the
launch of the new brand – Northern Ireland Embrace a Giant Spirit. Tourism
accounts for almost 10% of jobs in our economy and generated in excess of £1bn
in visitor spend in 2019 across our region bringing jobs, visitor spend and
much needed investment to many rural and coastal communities.

If
the challenge of getting cash to businesses is not addressed as an immediate
priority, we will lose many good tourism businesses and thousands of jobs
before the end of this crisis.

We
acknowledge that the Economy Minster also announced yesterday that £40million
has been made available for those not covered by the previously announced
grants but if that funding is not distributed with immediate effect it will not
be in time to save tourism businesses.

The
Tourism Industry will be an important part of our economic recovery once we
start to see restrictions lifted and the impact of the virus receding. We need
to ensure tourism businesses survive through these unprecedented circumstances
and be in a position to provide a future for staff and deliver for the economy.